Behind the Smile | A Short Film about Depression

A young woman's torturous battle to get to work.

Written & Directed by Darious Britt
Starring Gabi Urias

Behind the Scenes coming soon

[cttp]

Working with Darious on this edit was a treat. I loved every moment of it!

[DanLotzJoelDik]

Serious growth on this short. Cinematography is impeccable here! Audio design is very clean and effective.

[DyvneDirectorEsta]

So upset I didn’t see it when this dropped. But glad to have caught it overall!

AMAZING!

I loved the 4:3 ratio. It made me feel boxed into our main character and I could feel the suppression that she has inside of her own self.

Depression is real and this FELT REAL.

The way our main character was out of focus was such a great narrative choice. I thought of it as it’s what she felt inside of herself.

Awesome! I aspire to do what you do!

[juanguillen]

I love this film, I’ve dealt moments like these before going in to work. It’s refreshing to see this perspective in film.

[raphaeldasilva]

D after all these years of watching you, i must say... you just keep getting better. Keep up the great work, really appreciated this film!

[YourAverageNiche]

I see Darius is trying to breath fresh air into the formula of "alarm clock + bed". The actress is amazing and gorgeous, the editing and sound is on point, color grading is solid. This indeed feels like a graduation short but with more self-awareness on the tropes.

[juulcruiming]

been watching u for prob 8 some years now... I am making my own short films and you are still an inspiration to this day! All the love to you :)

[CoachDeeFree]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾loved it!
Particularly the shots when she's out of focus, visually demonstrating how she feels on the inside. Brilliant 🙏🏾💜

[timashby]

Brilliant. A fantastic portrait of what it’s like to live with depression. Great work!

[katecannon]

Great work as always Darious and a big shoutout to Gabi! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. You both captured the feeling perfectly and brought humanity to something many of us struggle with. That struggle can feel so lonely.

Thank you for what you both brought to this project.

[CheveeDodd]

Fantastic!!! I loved the use of foreground elements to make us (and her internal monologue) feel distant and separated.

[davideastham]

So relatable Darious. Thank you for this. Someone captured the daily struggle for so many of us, just to get out of bed and face the world with that fake smile. Am I OK? No, but I won't tell you that.

[saucedupfrost]

Ahh my man’s back!!! Bro u are the reason I picked up a camera and have been makin shorts and just learning everyday!!

[Johatsu]

✅Color upgraded
✅Composition upgraded
✅Lighting upgraded
✅Sound design upgraded
✅Vibe upgraded

[KUREHAD]

welcome back darious!! i love your stuff, you always inspire me. i love your "art is subjective" approach to filmmaking. it's because of you that i've started my journey of learning the rules so i can break them how i'd like, and making art that's true to me. I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE BACK POSTING!!! i'll eat up anything you upload!

now about the film, i think before i started watching your channel i might not have understood all the symbolism and artistry that went into this. but i LOVED how you managed to achieve the "isolated" feeling with your shots. i think all of us have experienced feeling disconnected from the rest of the world at some point, and i feel like everything, even down the very neutral-cold color grade and subtle halation, communicate that feeling super well. the beads and the shot around 3:53 really made it feel like she was trapped behind bars. i loved it!! thank you for teaching me the basics of film and the importance of conveying your art how you want!

[umrkhayam]

Can we talk about how creatively blur was used in some of the shots

[leoimaz]

Such a great and important short film Darious. Congratulations to you and Gabi! You guys nailed it!

[asabovesotello]

Oooof I felt this one.. Simple yet effective. Great work.

[VideoProject]

I like how experimental this short film was. That she was out of focus when she said she didn't feel like she mattered and that ties into reminding herself to focus because she has a hard time doing that. Never really saw an overexposed shot used on purpose but that could also be used to signify her being overwhelmed. Thought the cinematography was beautiful on this one and how natural light was used too. Great work.

[KlemensasKozlovas]

This was great, I love that the ending felt like a beginning of a more common short or tv episode. Like this story really was the behind the scenes of a difficult morning